


Unfounded Accusations

by Magefeathers



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And a small side of self-hating Keith, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Immediately Post-Season 2, Implied One-Sided Sheith, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Referenced Shallura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 04:32:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11006058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magefeathers/pseuds/Magefeathers
Summary: Written for an anon request on tumblr. The prompt was Voltron + "you need to go"Distraught in the wake of Shiro's disappearance, everyone says some things they don't mean.





	Unfounded Accusations

Allura was the first to speak, and her soft words shocked the group.

“How can we form Voltron now?”

The paladins turned to her, expressions disbelieving. “Are you _serious_?” Keith demanded, voice distraught. “Shiro is _gone_ , he disappeared right out of his lion, and all you care about is that we can’t form Voltron now?”

“I never said I don’t care about Shiro!” Allura retaliated, holding a hand to her chest in an offended manner. “But there is little we can do for him without our most powerful weapon!”

“The way you worded it _was_ kind of harsh, princess,” Hunk added gently. Allura crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.

“Clearly, that wasn’t how I meant it.”

“ _Clearly_ , Shiro was taken by the Galra,” said Pidge, their tone just shy of mocking. “We went after _you_ when you were captured. What’s going to stop us from going after Shiro?”

“Perhaps the lack of Voltron? Are you forgetting _how_ you rescued me?” Allura’s temper was rising, the general hostility level in the black lion’s cockpit rising with it. Everyone was on edge, distressed by the disappearance of their leader, their friend.

“Are you suggesting we just sit around and let the Galra have their way with him?” Lance asked, hands gesturing vaguely as he spoke.

“ _Again?_ ” Keith added, taking a step toward the princess. “You remember how Shiro got that robotic arm of his, don’t you? He’s already been held prisoner by them before!” Keith’s voice was rising with every word, echoing in the small space of the lion’s head; his hands balled into fists. “Do you expect us to just sit here and let them torture him all over again?”

Allura advanced toward Keith, posture and tone equally menacing. “I _expect_ you to take a step back and _calm down_.”

Keith raised his chin defiantly, his voice low and threatening. “Shiro told me he wanted _me_ to lead Voltron, should anything happen to him. And _I_ say we're going to find him.”

“Wait, _you_?” Lance asked. “Why would he pick _you_ to lead? And why would he even _say_ that?”

“And why didn’t he inform anyone else of this decision?” Allura added, her tone suspicious.

“You aren’t exactly level-headed,” said Hunk.

“Wait a minute,” Pidge interrupted, holding up their hands. “Shiro told you, in private, that he wanted you to lead Voltron if anything should happen to him… and then he mysteriously vanishes?”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What are you implying?”

“How could the Galra have taken Shiro right from under our noses?” Allura demanded, taking another step toward Keith. “How could they do that without any of us knowing?”

Keith stared at her, uncomprehending. “Are you saying you think I knew?”

“I’m saying I think you _helped_.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Hunk interrupted, stepping between Allura and Keith. “That’s going a little far, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Allura asked, before turning her attention back to Keith. “You weaken Voltron by removing its leader and then you try to usurp it by claiming he named you his successor,” she accused, hands on her hips. “That sounds like standard Galra war tactics to me.”

“I would never hurt Shiro!” Keith shouted, pain from the accusation showing clearly on his features. “You don’t understand how much Shiro means to me!”

“Nor do you understand how much he means to me!” Allura countered.

“Allura, stop it!” shouted Pidge, joining Hunk between the two. “Just because you were sleeping with him doesn’t mean you get to accuse Keith of helping the Galra kidnap him!”

“ _What?_ ” Lance and Hunk gasped in unison, while Keith gaped at Allura’s reddened face.

“T-that-! My relationship with Shiro has nothing to do with this!” Allura sputtered.

“I don’t know about naming him the leader,” Lance started, joining the others between Allura and Keith, “but I do know that Shiro never questioned Keith’s loyalty after finding out he was part Galra. Not even once.”

“And for all we know, that trust was the death of him.” Allura’s voice cracked toward the end, her eyes watery, though she refused to let the tears fall. She glared down Keith, whose grief was written equally legibly on his face. She took a deep breath, steadied her tone, and said to him, “You need to go.”

Keith’s eyes widened, betrayal reflected in them. Before he got a chance to react, the other paladins were reacting for him.

“Absolutely not!” Hunk was the first to speak, holding his arms out to his sides as if to shield Keith from Allura.

“Yeah!” Lance agreed quickly, right at Hunk’s side. “Keith is a paladin of Voltron, just like the rest of us! We can’t do this without him, any more than we can do this without Shiro!”

“Regardless of what you all may believe,” Allura paused, turned her eyes back to Keith, “or what Shiro may or may not have told you, _I’m_ the one who’s in charge here. _My_ father built Voltron. This is _my_ castle. If I say that Keith is no longer the red paladin, then he no longer is.”

“Try telling that to the red lion,” Pidge reasoned. “How many times has it left the hangar on its own to find Keith when he needed it? It attacked the Blade of Marmora’s base because Keith was distressed! If you throw Keith out, the red lion will follow him.”

“If you throw Keith out,” Lance added, voice low and steady, “we’ll all follow him.”

Pidge and Hunk nodded their agreement, the three of them standing in solidarity, a human barricade between Keith and Allura. Allura stared down at the paladins, and the paladins stared back, unwavering.

Keith set his hands on Lance and Hunk’s shoulders, gently pushing them apart. The two made room for their friend, who slowly walked past them to approach Allura. Keith’s eyes were downcast when he spoke. “Allura, I understand where you’re coming from. We’re all upset about what happened to Shiro. You and I, especially.” Allura’s jaw clenched. Keith swallowed around the lump that was rising in his throat, took a deep breath, and started again. “If you still want me to leave, I will, but I need to say one thing first.”

The other three paladins watched in silent wonder. Keith finally raised his head, holding Allura’s gaze with his own as he said, “If you make me leave, Shiro will never forgive you.”

And those were the words that broke the spell. Allura’s eyes widened, and then her head fell in shame. “I fear it is already too late for that,” she murmured. The princess wrapped her arms around herself, taking a step back from the team. The four paladins looked at each other in question before slowly approaching.

“Allura?” Pidge asked gently, reaching out their hand to lay it on Allura’s forearm. “What are you talking about?” When Allura was silent, Hunk and Lance joined the questioning.

“What happened, princess?”

“Why wouldn’t Shiro forgive you?”

Keith, to his credit, was the only one who understood, the only one who had already figured it out. “Allura...” He tried his best to soften his voice, make it reassuring. “This isn’t your fault.”

“And how isn’t it?” Allura snapped, looking up with fierce eyes, but more pain in her voice than anger. “The castle is supposed to cover you. It- _I_ am supposed to protect you!” She shook her head, sorrow filling her words. “I wanted so desperately to make it your fault, and I’m so sorry. _I’m_ the one who was supposed to be protecting you and Shiro was taken from us without me even noticing!” Her eyes softened then, losing their ferocity and finally reflecting her mourning. Her voice was low when she spoke again. “Whose fault could this possibly be, if not my own?”

To everyone’s surprise, Keith stepped forward without hesitation, wrapping Allura in a tight embrace. Allura’s eyes widened. “This is no one’s fault but Zarkon’s,” Keith said against her ear, nothing but certainty in his voice. “We _will_ find Shiro.”

It took a moment for Allura to relax into Keith and return the embrace, but once she did, the rest of the paladins joined in on the hug as well. “Thank you, Keith,” Allura mumbled into his neck, and the hug tightened evenly from all sides.

The five of them stood like that, sharing in their grief for a long moment, and when they all finally parted, there was determination in their eyes.

“Now then, let’s go find Shiro,” Allura announced.

“Yeah!” the paladins chorused, and followed their princess out of the black lion.

On the way out, Lance nudged Keith in the side with his elbow. Keith turned to him with agitated eyes.

“You sounded like Shiro back there,” Lance said with a grin, catching Keith off guard. Keith stopped in his tracks, blinking at the blue paladin. Lance kept walking as he spoke again.

“Maybe you won’t make such a bad leader after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Woo buddy! This is the first Voltron fic I've written and it's short but I'm pretty pleased with it? I literally just finished season two a week or so ago and I'm still upset about it. If you liked the fic, leave a comment and let me know, or hit me up on tumblr @acetsukkis. I'm always taking requests! Thanks for reading ♥


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